Why TF am I not losing weight?

[Ozgirl75]

I’ve managed to pile on about 4kg this year - solely due to moving to the U.K. and embracing Galaxy, nice white bread and other delicious comfort food, plus stopping my usual exercise routine, although I am still exercising.
Im not dramatically overweight but I have 6kg to lose. I feel like I’ve cut out all the nice stuff and it’s still not shifting!

A normal day looks like:
No breakfast (I never have breakfast, I have a cup of tea)
Lunch - two hard boiled eggs in a salad, cucumber, red pepper, pickled cucumber, beetroot, olives. Followed by one of those naked bars. Occasionally a roll with this if I’m v hungry.
Dinner - normal stuff, stir fry, roasts, fish. Plenty of veg. Not tiny but just normal dinners.
Followed by a frozen yogurt and sometimes a Galaxy Ripple.
Maybe some fruit in the evening later.
Occasionally 3-4 rice crackers mid afternoon.

Is it just because I’m 46 and am destined to be a size 14 for ever more now? I’m 70kg and 5ft 3 and a half.

Just saying - I don’t want to eat only chocolate.
Although it is a thought….

If you are no longer having yoghurt maybe try to get some other fermented foods into your diet e.g raw milk cheese, saukercrat etc. or what about greek yoghurt with honey?

There has been some really interesting research on changes to the gut microbiome when moving countries and the impact on weight gain.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/migration-gut-bacteria-health-refugees-microbiome-biology-a8614946.html

I would replace you nut bar with actual nuts and seeds and try to go for higher % dark chocolate.

@Milkkbottles yes, you are right, but I can't be bothered to calorie count. It's easier and more sustainable for me to just reduce sugar, alcohol and carbs.

You’re eating frozen yoghurt, a chocolate bar, a bread roll, a naked bar and 3-4 rice cakes every day.
that’s probably about 500 calories that aren’t really filling you up. More if you’re having sugars in teas and coffees or any additional treats like at the weekend
can you keep 200 calories - like a chocolate bar
but lose the other 300 then you’ll be down around 2000 calories a week - a whole days calories!
obviously if you’re actually hungry swap the 200 calories for some protein instead

The calories in fruit can add up too, it’s great to have for nutrition in a balanced diet, but personally when on a diet I drop it because it’s not very filling. It depends how much you want to lose really. If it’s 10lbs I would personally go without fruit and daily chocolate just for the few weeks you’d need.

think about your dinner too, is the roast some roast chicken, with lots of oils, roast potatoes (more oil) Yorkshire puddings etc can you add more veg, and less oil for example. Or drop these kindof meals for a few weeks.

or keep your diet the same but you need to move more

So I do have a sweet tooth - a handful of nuts is not something i would ever choose to eat really.
The frozen yogurt is just yogurt and fruit.

OP, I can guarantee you it's nothing that you are or aren't eating. Your diet is fine. You don't drink, you're eating salads with no dressing, air fryer wedges.. you need some joy in your life! It's your age, perimenopausal or menopausal, unfortunately. It's a bitch. I never had to count calories in my life. Hit 45, grew some rolls where there should not be any, belly overhanging, etc, no matter what I do. I say do what you are doing and you'll feel better anyway with all those salads!

Actually it’s probably more more than 500 calories in those things I’ve listed

You don't need to eat breakfast. I think it's a cereal producer conspiracy. And besides, everyone eats breakfast really, it doesn't make sense to say you don't eat it. Whenever you start eating in the day, you are breaking your fast. It doesn't need to be at 6am.

Me too. Trying to resist. I tend to go for pineapple, melon, mango, berries (when in season - or frozen). All sweet options that I like. Nutritious, and lower calories. Best to eat whole fruit (the fibre limits the sugar spike AND it fills you up more), avoid blending or juicing.

That’s 400 calories of snacks which is loads if you’re trying to lose weight.

A lot of my friends over 45 have decided that they would rather have joy in their life than cut out sugar and alcohol, and just made peace with being larger in mid-life. That's a valid choice too. Unfortunately, I am from an ethnic group where I have to get my BMI below 23 or risk getting diabetes.

But the salad doesn't need to be tiny? Make the salad massive, eat a sourdough roll rather than white, cut the chocolate bars and sugary snack bars and do an extra workout that's different, like a swim each week and see if that does the trick.

MN massive salad!😀 Personally, I never eat salad despite being vegetarian. It's so dull and unsustainable. There are other ways of eating veggies.

It's SO DEPRESSING. I feel for you.

Just up your general activity eg walking more, taking stairs instead of lift etc. A few years ago when my work became home-based I put on a few pounds simply because I was no longer commuting (which usually involved lots of dashing to the station and running up and down the escalators on the tube as I was always late). My diet and exercise didn't change. So get more steps in and maybe up the actual workouts to 3-4 times a week.

I'm 43 and have just lost 8kg, I have fruit and fat free greek yogurt for breakfast but this could be a snack, chicken salad with low fat dressing and usually a stir fry or spaghetti bolognese. I don't snack. On a weekend I'm a bit more relaxed and I also drink on a weekend. I exercise 5 days a week at least, doing a combo of cardio and strength training. If I'm extra hungry I'll have a hard boiled egg.
I have a sweet tooth but found after a couple of weeks I stopped craving sugar.

I was in a similar position and I'd wager a guess that it's your dinner portion size / calorie intake that's the issue.

Have a look at Team RH on Facebook (for the free stuff, you don't have to subscribe) for some no-nonsense tips.

Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. Accept the body shape/size you have when you eat according to hunger

This is the second thread today I’ve read where someone is eating loads and blaming no weight loss on their age. You’re eating more calories than you are using up.

Today I’ve had 90g full fat Greek yogurt with a few berries and seeds, an egg made into a thin omelette used as a wrap and rolled with a slice of ham and salad, a turkey stir fry with peppers, spring onions, mushrooms, green beans and hoisin sauce served with cauliflower rice. Oat milk in tea and coffee and plenty of water. I’m post menopausal, pretty sedentary and losing weight steadily.

Yes calories does matter but what most people dont know is the insulin. The older you get the higher your insulin resistance become, hence harder to lose weight. So WHAT you eat and WHEN you eat are imperial factors! Try combined intermittent fast and food that doesnt spike insulin. Thank me later

Your exercise won't be burning calories - Pilates is not a calorie burner - you strengthen the body but it is not a burner and the weights - unless you are lifting heavy again not a big calorie burner - even body pump (1 hour class) for an average female is only around 400 cals per class and that is with decent weights ie 10kg each end for squats - you do not specify your exercise regime in any detail but I would discount any calorie burn although they will help strengthen and tone the body and are great.

I have lost a stone and a half in 3 months by eating low carb and doing the 16:8. I still have another stone to go but I'm never hungry as I don't calorie count or restrict the amount of food I eat when I'm in my eating window. I feel loads better too. I'm 43 btw. You could join the low carb bootcamp that's just started?

The only times in my life when I've lost weight, I was definitely hungry. But there was so much else going on in my life that I didn't really mind, in fact I barely noticed. (Early 20s!)

So I've come to the conclusion that the trick is to distract yourself from any hunger you might feel. It's all in the mind ....